


What Precious Time We Have Left

by Rambert



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Heavy Angst, I can't stop writing tragedy, Kiss attempt, M/M, Missing Scene, Viren doesn't understand consent or boundaries, Viren is evil I wrote this to prove it, but he's rightfully angry so yeah, finally figured out custom tags woo, my heart hurts for harrow, my least likeable but most realistic Viren yet, selfish canon Viren, very sweary Harrow in his POV, why am i like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-10-01 18:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rambert/pseuds/Rambert
Summary: Update: Now has 2 parts to explore both Viren and Harrow's POV."You are a servant of the kingdom of Katolis. You are aservant."A short fic exploring what I think happened next in this scene.





	1. Viren

**Author's Note:**

> This is doomed post-relationship Virrow, you've been warned.

"You are a servant of the kingdom of Katolis. You are a _servant_."

Pip chirped on King Harrow's shoulder, and Viren bristled.

But the hard stone floor hurt his knees, and suddenly he realized the real reason he was here. It wasn't to get caught up in his petty squabbles with Harrow -- not any more. Not when he was legitimately worried for the King's life.

"...You are right," Viren said, the fight leaving him.

"I am... sorry, my King," he continued, only just barely swallowing his pride enough to mean it.

"I did not come here to question your authority, but rather... to offer my own life in exchange for preserving yours. I will use the Soulfang serpent on myself."

"..._Really_." Harrow snorted derisively.

"And I'm supposed to believe that? I saw the fear in your eyes when I asked you earlier today," he pressed on, and Viren finally raised his gaze from the floor, looking back up at his friend... at his first love. The one who'd never felt the same as he had, yet he'd never been able to stop impossibly hoping for it.

"Harrow, please," Viren implored. "I have it right here, ready. I haven't even told the children, so they can't talk me out of it. Please, let me serve you this way, let me protect you and stand by you in this final act."

If he had been hoping Harrow would be impressed, he'd been hoping wrong, and Viren watched Harrow's face twist into a grimace.

"You didn't tell your children?!" Harrow was incredulous, his outburst startling Pip off his shoulder and back to his perch.

"Viren, this sort of selfish, impulsive behavior is exactly why I don't want to use another Dark Magic shortcut. For years now you've been getting worse and worse, insisting you know what you're doing when I don't think you do at _all_ . You didn't know what you were doing with the Magma Titan, you didn't know what you were doing with the Dragon egg, and you don't know what the true consequences of using this Soulfang serpent would even _be._"

The words cut Viren like a knife, but Harrow wasn't through. "You've talked me into a _lot_ of bad ideas over the years Viren... not this time. Not. this. time."

Silence hung between them, somber and uncomfortable. Even Pip was quiet, staring intently at both of them.

Viren found himself wishing that things between him and Harrow were like they'd been in the portrait he had downstairs, the portrait Claudia had just said they'd looked so happy together in.

What he'd wanted to tell his daughter was, yes, they were happy together in that portrait -- because they'd been in love.

Or at least... Viren had been in love, and Harrow had indulged him. For a while. Then... Sarai had arrived, and Viren became chopped liver in comparison to her.

But even after all these years, Viren's heart had never wavered in its devotion to Harrow, and Harrow only. And now, in what could very well be the twilight of his King's life... Viren was afraid. He had never been in a position of authority _without_ Harrow -- and he didn't want to find out what it would be like.

The thought of Harrow dying was just something he could not accept, and emotion overwhelmed him.

"So if I can't convince you I'm serious about this... what do I do then?" Viren finally asked, his voice choked.

"I just... am supposed to do nothing, to watch you die?"

"You fight by my side, Viren, like everyone else," Harrow replied, sounding exhausted. The King sat back down on the bed, patting the space next to him.

"I'm _not_ going to inhabit your body. That's just creepy. You do know how creepy that is, right?"

Viren sat down on the bed next to Harrow and sighed, nodding as he relented. "Yeah... yeah, okay, it is pretty weird."

"Exactly. Look... your loyalty to me was never in question," Harrow said softly, and Viren looked up at him, feeling his heart skip a beat.

"My King... Harrow... I'm scared. I don't want to lose you," Viren said quietly, unable to hold his true feelings back any longer.

"You don't get to _keep_ me, Viren," Harrow replied, tiredly, looking older than he was. "You never did, remember?"

"No, I never did." Viren felt tears welling up in his eyes, and blinked rapidly to dispel the feeling. It wasn't _fair._ He knew Harrow would never love him back, but still... the pain of that rejection had never been easy to bear, all these years.

"I never stopped caring about you, though," Harrow admitted, smiling faintly at Viren -- it was a sad smile.

"But you've _changed_, Viren. Your face, it's... you look like you've aged twenty years," the King murmured, reaching up to touch Viren's hollowed cheek. The High Mage fought down a shiver, at the contact from Harrow like he hadn't felt in so long.

"You must promise me something," Harrow said, and Viren's breath hitched.

"Anything, King Harrow."

"Promise me that you'll stop doing Dark Magic."

"..."

For the second time today Viren hesitated too long and Harrow sighed harshly, standing up again.

"Why, _why_ did I think you'd actually listen to me this time?"

No, no, this was going all wrong again.

"Harrow, I--"

"Get out."

"Please I'm sorry just--"

"Get _out_ . Get _out_!" Harrow shouted, furious again.

Viren knew that if he left, then this would be the last he'd ever see of Harrow -- angry, hating him. He couldn't let that happen, and he was feeling just the right amount of delirious bravado to do what he did next.

Which was to grab his King by the shoulder plate and try to pull him in for a desperate kiss... except Harrow saw it coming and recoiled in disgust, shoving Viren away.

"How _dare_ you try to invoke our past trysts at a time like this!" Harrow roared, clearly not caring who heard outside his chambers.

Viren spoke his last truth, words he hadn't said aloud in years now. "H-Harrow, please, I love you--"

"_Stop_ it Viren! You say you love me but you don't want to actually do what I ask of you if it doesn't suit _your _ needs first! I cannot stand your unwanted, selfish devotion _any longer_!"

Harrow drew his sword, striking it down with a clang on the stone floor as he began to sob.

"Viren, me dying tonight is _your fault_ . Y-you made me question my own w-_wife_. Sarai was right," he cried miserably, face falling into his hands as his sword clattered to the floor.

"Trusting _you_, Viren, has ruined my _life_."

And Viren's mouth went dry, as he realized that the one person he had truly loved in life now hated him. That he had done things that had ripped away King Harrow's happiness, and deep down he had selfishly known the risk and done it anyway out of some delusional thought process that Harrow would love him again, afterward.

That had most decidedly _not_ happened.

And now, the truth was all coming out tonight. All at the end -- Harrow's end, anyway.

But no... Viren just couldn't allow it. He couldn't allow _this_ to be the end of them.

He couldn't allow those dirty _elves_ to kill his beloved King!

Looking towards the Soulfang serpent box, he heard Pip chirp from the corner and suddenly had an idea... a _terrible_ idea, but an idea nonetheless. And if he acted now, while Harrow was upset and unfocused, he could... yes, he could!

And he _should_. Viren grabbed the soulfang box, walking over to the King and pulling it out.

Harrow looked up in shock, hands raising in front of his face instinctively.

"Viren n-_no_! Please don't do this!"

But it was too late: the snake bit his throat a moment later and Harrow screamed in fear. Viren would hear that scream in his nightmares for the rest of his life.

When the other snake head bit Pip, Viren crushed the magical insect body he'd retrieved from his pouch, completing the incantation and signing the final rune to complete the snake's ritual so that the souls would transfer completely, and simultaneously.

A minute later Viren watched Harrow's body open his eyes as Pip, and he began to warble repeatedly while running around the room.

Pip's body stayed stock-still, fixing Viren with a piercing gaze before shrieking _loudly_.

"You can thank me later," Viren said petulantly, striding out of the room as quickly as possible.

"What's going on in there?" Soren asked, eyebrows raised. "I heard screaming! Did you see the elves?"

"No, but King Harrow is very upset and wants to be left alone now," Viren lied, and for some blessed reason his son took him at his word, though the guards next to them looked at each other.

He could hear Pip's body screeching, but luckily the sound was faint through the thick wooden door and a bird calling wasn't cause for alarm anyway.

"We have to be ready, the elves could strike at any moment," Viren said distractedly, and thankfully there was no reply from anyone this time.

As he stood there with them in silence, though, his thoughts already haunted him.

_What have you done, Viren? You turned your King into a _bird!

_I was just doing what I had to do to save him. _

_But... he didn't want to be saved, did he. _

Viren felt sick, his hands going clammy. Maybe there was time to reverse the spell, if he went and got the grimorie now he could--

Then Prince Callum showed up, distracting him from those thoughts.

And as he was chewing out the prince, cold wind suddenly whistled down the corridor, extinguishing the torches. Viren felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"They're here!"

The assassins had arrived.

It was too late.


	2. Harrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harrow's POV of this scene.

"You are a servant of the kingdom of Katolis. You are a _servant_."

Pip chirped on King Harrow's shoulder while he glared down at the High Mage, and he watched Viren's shoulders shake in badly suppressed anger.

But what he said next surprised Harrow.

"...You are right."

"I am... sorry, my King," Viren continued, only sounding just barely sincere - but he was clearly making an effort to de-escalate the fight.

"I did not come here to question your authority, but rather... to offer my own life in exchange for preserving yours. I will use the Soulfang serpent on myself."

"..._Really_." Harrow snorted derisively. _It took you three hours to not be afraid of my suggestion, did it Viren_?

"And I'm supposed to believe that? I saw the fear in your eyes when I asked you earlier today," he pressed on, still angry himself. He scarcely recognized Viren these days, seeing a coward in his old friend's place.

He couldn't believe _this_ was Viren's best idea! That after so long of bad outcomes with Dark Magic, the man that claimed to be his closest friend, who had claimed for years to love him, just wouldn't give it up, like a-- like some kind of _fiend_.

"Harrow, please," Viren implored, looking desperate. "I have it right here, ready. I haven't even told the children, so they can't talk me out of it. Please, let me serve you this way, let me protect you and stand by you in this final act."

_The only one you've ever served is yourself_, Harrow thought to himself, but he dared not speak it in front of the volatile, too-powerful man who had consumed his once-friend.

But then a moment later, he realized Viren's disgusting patterns had reached a new low--

"You didn't tell your children?!" Harrow was incredulous, his outburst startling Pip off his shoulder and back to his perch.

Well and truly in a righteous fury now, he thought about how Claudia and Soren would be looking at him if he _were_ to agree to this madness. He'd have to tell them he'd _killed their father and was living in his body_. What the _fuck_, Viren! Why would he think that was some kind of honorable sacrifice?!

"Viren, this sort of selfish, impulsive behavior is exactly why I don't want to use another Dark Magic shortcut. For years now you've been getting worse and worse, insisting you know what you're doing when I don't think you do at _all_ . You didn't know what you were doing with the Magma Titan, you didn't know what you were doing with the Dragon egg, and you don't know what the true consequences of using this Soulfang serpent would even _be._"

Not for the first time in recent years, King Harrow sorely missed his Queen. She had been right about Viren all along and he hadn't listened to her... and now she was gone forever.

"You've talked me into a _lot_ of bad ideas over the years Viren... not this time. Not. this. time," he finished, crisply.

Silence hung between them, somber and uncomfortable. Even Pip was quiet, staring intently at both of them.

Harrow took in a slow breath, exhaling loudly through his nose. Of all the people to be with on the night of his death, of fucking _course_ it would be Viren and not a single member of his own family.

And of course when the High Mage finally spoke, he sounded upset. _Dramatic_, was the word that popped into Harrow's mind. Viren always had a flair for that shit.

"So if I can't convince you I'm serious about this... what do I do then?" Viren finally asked, sounding on the verge of tears.

Harrow let his eyes close for a long moment, suddenly remembering that day with the Magma Titan again. _Everyone_ had been scared, especially Viren -- he knew the man well enough to tell, even though the High Mage had tried to hide it.

He sounded scared like that again, now.

"I just... am supposed to do nothing, to watch you die?"

_Why is it my responsibility to coddle you through this when I'm the one dying? _

"You fight by my side, Viren, like everyone else," Harrow replied, exhausted -- the fight had left him at last. He sat back down on the bed, patting the space next to him.

"I'm _not_ going to inhabit your body. That's just creepy. You do know how creepy that is, right?"

He didn't think he'd ever have to spell this shit out as if to a child, but, Viren had jumped headfirst into something the depths of which Harrow was _certain_ he still did not know. His old friend's lust for power had morphed into something terrifying. The King half-expected the High Mage to be offended at his flippancy.

But Viren just sat down on the bed next to Harrow and sighed, nodding as he relented. "Yeah... yeah, okay, it is pretty weird."

"Exactly."

Deep down, of course, Harrow knew that Viren truly believed he was doing what was right, and that the ends justified the means.

He always had the right motivations... but the road to Harrow's hell had been paved with Viren's good intentions.

Still though... he had agreed to all of this too. Viren had only been trying to help, and there hadn't exactly been tons of other options available.

"Look... your loyalty to me was never in question," Harrow said softly, and Viren looked up at him. For a moment, he saw a flicker of his old friend in those eyes.

"My King... Harrow... I'm scared. I don't want to lose you," Viren said quietly, and Harrow felt an ache in his chest knowing this was Viren baring it all for him, as he had so many times before. But... just like all the other times, Harrow still didn't feel the same. He had loved Sarai, and she was dead now.

"You don't get to _keep_ me, Viren," Harrow replied, tiredly. He was about to _die_, and all Viren could think about was his own unrequited love. It hurt him, that Viren was still so selfish. "You never did, remember?"

"No, I never did." Viren looked about to cry now, and despite himself Harrow felt a twinge of guilt. He supposed he had been selfish, too, by not humoring Viren any longer even when his own loneliness at night had been excruciating ever since Sarai's death.

"I never stopped caring about you, though," Harrow admitted, smiling faintly at Viren -- it was a sad smile.

There... had been a time when he had _almost_ loved Viren. Almost.

But that was decades ago now, when they had both been scarcely grown.

Looking at the man now, Harrow could barely even remember the way Viren used to really laugh, and smile without looking sinister. The way he could sing. The way they would kiss, and touch. It seemed like a faraway dream. Dark Magic was ruining him, had been ruining him for over a decade now.

"But you've _changed_, Viren. Your face, it's... you look like you've aged twenty years," the King murmured, reaching up to touch Viren's hollowed cheek. They were both the same age, but already Viren looked much older.

The High Mage leaned into his touch like a blossoming flower leans into sunlight.

Caught up in the moment, Harrow wondered if his death might serve a greater purpose for Katolis after all.

"You must promise me something," Harrow whispered, and he heard Viren's breath hitch.

"Anything, King Harrow."

Maybe now, knowing that Harrow would die from Viren's choices... maybe now he could get through to the High Mage.

"Promise me that you'll stop doing Dark Magic."

"..."

Viren said nothing, and Harrow stood up with a harsh sigh. His anger returned so quickly, it made him dizzy.

"Why, _why_ did I think you'd actually listen to me this time?"

Why was he always so naive with Viren? Why did he _always_ give him the benefit of the doubt when he _never_ deserved it? Harrow felt sick.

"Harrow, I--"

"Get out." The words were spat.

"Please I'm sorry just--"

"Get _out_. Get _out_!" Harrow shouted, furious.

Viren looked scared, still, but had a wild expression as he stepped close: all of a sudden the King had to push away the High Mage, because Viren had just tried to fucking _kiss_ him.

"How _dare_ you try to invoke our past trysts at a time like this!" Harrow roared, not caring who heard outside his chambers.

"H-Harrow, please, I love you--"

That was it -- that was the last of this he could take. Harrow's temper snapped and his enraged yell filled the room.

"_Stop_ it Viren! You say you love me but you don't want to actually do what I ask of you if it doesn't suit _your _needs first! I cannot stand your unwanted, selfish devotion _any longer_!"

When had he drawn his sword? Harrow wanted to hit something, and his blade came down noisily against the stone floor as he struck it, and he fell to his knees as his anger bled into grief.

"Viren, me dying tonight is _your fault_. Y-you made me question my own w-_wife_. Sarai was right," he cried miserably, face falling into his hands as his sword clattered to the floor.

It had taken him _way_ too fucking long to see Viren for the selfish manipulator he truly was. Now he was going to die far away from his living loved ones, all because he had let this man into his heart and let him hold it too closely.

Even though he had never truly loved Viren the same way the High Mage loved him, he had trusted Viren once. And Viren had broken that trust many times, yet Harrow had somehow still respected him. For way too long.

_Sarai... you were right. I'm so sorry for letting you and Callum and Ezran down. At least now I will see you soon._

Harrow wept, not noticing the eerie look that had come over Viren's face.

It wasn't until he saw movement that he realized the High Mage was holding the Soulfang serpent.

His blood ran cold and he threw up his hands in fear.

"Viren n-_no_! Please don't do this!" he begged, seeing a monster standing in his old friend's body.

But it was too late: feeling a sharp pain at his throat, Harrow screamed, his body going slack into paralysis within seconds from the snake's venom.

He could only watch as Viren completed the ritual, horrified at what was happening.

Then everything went black...

Harrow came to, opening his eyes slowly and realizing with a jolt that he could see _himself_ now, because he was outside his body.

His body sat up and cocked its head, warbling and making odd movements. _Pip, I'm so sorry._

Harrow in Pip's body stayed stock-still, fixing Viren with a piercing gaze before shrieking _loudly_.

"You can thank me later," Viren said petulantly, striding out of the room as quickly as possible.

Harrow tried to follow him, screeching, but he couldn't quite figure out how to fly at first and just sort of hopped along the stone floor.

By the time he figured out how to get airborne, the door was long shut.

Harrow was reeling, pressing himself up against the door to try and hear what Viren was saying but he couldn't.

He screeched until his new tiny bird lungs felt like they were going to give out, but no one opened the door.

And then, as he sat there catching his breath, he realized the room had gone quite cold.

He heard Viren shout something to the guards.

The Moonshadow elves were here at last.

Harrow flew over to the highest point in the room, the dresser, and when the elves and humans burst into the room fighting they paid him no mind.

He watched Pip in his body get slaughtered, the whole thing almost too surreal to take in. And his wasn't the only body that fell, that night.

Watching the carnage unfold, Harrow swore that he would find his sons and make Viren _pay_ for his crimes, if it was the very last thing he did.

_You won't get away with this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Which part did you like better? Any feedback would be lovely, also if you'd like to see some pre-canon Virrow, I quite enjoyed writing these two and would take any excuse to continue lol


End file.
